Royal Dhampir
by Just Another Fanatic
Summary: Gen has just learned that the father she never knew is a vampire. A royal one at that. In fact, a prince. She hadn't even known vampires existed, but now she's been enlisted to train and to protect Charlie Lazar. However, having never trained before, Gen is behind all the other novices, even Jake Argent, the cute Moroi that wants to be able to protect himself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was very difficult to breathe. I stared at the scene of what was my home, destroyed, and my breath constricted. It wasn't the fact that the door was off the hinges, or that everything had been thrown about and broken or shredded; those shocked me, yes, but it wasn't the worst of it. It wasn't even that the others in the building were not even glancing in.

I could smell blood.

After my moment of shock, having returned home from a particularly late night run to my home destroyed, I ran in. The lights were off, but I still could see easily enough to avoid all the things out of place, closing in on the blood. I easily jumped a chair and ducked over a fallen tower lamp.

I found my mother on the kitchen floor. A small pool of blood surrounded her head, but I could tell by the odd angles of her limbs that she had been thrown about a few times. There was also a small tear in her neck, and a bit of blood in her mouth as if she had bitten her tongue.

I fell to my knees and crawled to her body. "Mom," I croaked, but it was no use. She was dead.

I'm not sure the length of time that I sobbed next to her, but life became blur for several days after that. Someone else finally came in, I'm not sure who, and called the police. Her body was gone before daylight. There was a funeral service, which consisted of myself and a few of my mother's co-workers, and a memorial set up at her office. A few days later I was packing up my things, what hadn't been broken or destroyed at least. At age fifteen and with no known family, they were putting me into foster care. A family not too far had offered to take me in for the time being. I'd be going to the same school, which I couldn't decide if it was a good or bad thing. I knew that everyone would be whispering and pointing, but I'd have friends there. Aside from being so withdrawn, I guess I was what foster families wanted. A bright girl with all honors classes, active in sports and clubs at school, a hard worker, and never would I become involved in drugs or drinking. The worst they would have to deal with would probably be crying fits.

I could still smell the blood, even though it had been cleaned and bleached, after an extensive examination of the kitchen by the police that is. After all, the building management wanted to be able to get it all fixed up so they could rent it out again once I was out. However, as I was packing, I heard someone step into the apartment that I had lived in with my mother.

I grabbed onto an old field hockey stick that I never really used as it was one of the sports I hadn't excelled at, and held it ready as I crept out of the room. They say criminals always return to the scene of the crime, and I wasn't about to let there be a repeat performance.

What I found were two men, though I could hear a third person in the living room. They, however, didn't seem to be there to hurt me. The man in front was tall and thin, pale, with pale blonde hair like my own, and the same blue eyes. It hit me that this man could be related to me… possibly the father I had never met, though my skin was more tanned, and not just from my time in the sun playing sports. His skin was the kind of pale that one received steering clear of the sun completely. He wore a crisp black suit, blue undershirt that brought out his eyes, the jacket opened, and a hand in his pocket.

The guy behind him was just short of my possible father's height, but was twice as wide at the shoulders, probably of muscles. He wore black slacks and a black leather jacket over a white shirt. Dark hair, and his eyes were all over the place.

"It's Genevieve, right?" the blue-eyed man said.

I had begun to lower the field hockey stick when I first saw him, but I held it at the ready when he took a few steps toward me. In a flash, Mr. Muscle was in front of me and ripped the stick from my hands as if I hadn't been holding it at all, despite how tight my grip was.

"Harry, stop," Blue Eyes said, a commandment, but not stern. "She's just scared." He approached me again, but Harry kept his eyes carefully trained on me and threw the hockey stick behind him. "Genevieve. My name is Charles Lazar."

"And?" I asked. I stepped back, into my room so that I could slam the door closed if I felt threatened. Charles didn't feel like a threat; despite my small size, Charles looked frail and I figured a quick kick could incapacitate him. Harry, the muscles, not so much.

Charles sighed. "I think that, maybe, I might be your father."

"There's definitely a resemblance," I heard the voice of a woman in the other room. She must have been looking at a picture of me on the mantel. She stepped into the hallway. Like Harry, she was in black and white. Her light brown hair was in a bun. She smiled when she saw me. "Oh, back up you two. I knew I should have handled this alone." She approached, yanked Harry back a few steps, and put a hand on Charles's shoulder. Once he too had stepped back, she offered a hand. "The name is Betty, but I'm usually called Guardian Clare."

I looked at the hand for a moment, and then offered her my hand. "Gen," I replied.

Her looked went from cheerful to serious. "I'm so sorry about what happened, and how it was you that found her. No one should have to see that." She nodded her head toward Charles. "Mr. Lazar recognized your mother's picture in the news. He once had a romance with your mother. And, well, the timing does fit." She tilted her head. "You do have his eyes, rare indeed."

"So, you want me to move in with you now?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Betty bit her lip and turned to Charles. Interestingly, she had several tattoos on the back of her neck, but I only spotted them for a second before she was looking at me again. "We have some things to tell you that may come as a shock. But we will allow the decision up to you. And if you're dissatisfied with the decision you make, you can change your mind at any time."

It's probably a stupid idea to trust three random people that come to your home, but I allowed them to take me to a restaurant, a small diner that was lightly populated, but easy enough to run from if they tried to kidnap me. Running was what I was best at.

Charles started out with the basics… how he met my mother, how they had an affair, even though he was married and his wife pregnant, how his wife found out and rather than getting a divorce, forced the family to move away. He said it must have been shortly after my mother had gotten pregnant that he left because he would have insisted to know and help financially if he had known about me earlier.

"How did you learn about me, then?" I asked, slowly eating the ice cream I had decided on over actual food. Betty was sitting with us, as I felt comfortable with her around, but Harry was standing off, watching us from a distance. When I had asked about that, they said it would come up in time.

"Well, when I saw your mother's picture in the news, I recognized her," he said. "The story said she had left behind a daughter, so I had Harry come here and investigate to see if I could be the father."

"And your wife and kids are okay that you want to take your love child in?" I asked.

He completely avoided this question, and instead went in a totally different, and very unexpected, direction.

"What do you know about vampires?"

I stared at him. He was being serious. "Edward Cullen is awkwardly hot, Buffy slays them, and Dracula is pretty badass." I cocked my head. "Why? Don't tell me you are one."

He cleared his throat. "I'm what is known as a Moroi. One of two forms of vampires."

I stared at him like he had to be crazy. Because he had to be, right?

"That would make you half-vampire," Betty put in. "Better known as a dhampir." She smiled. "Harry and I are dhampirs too."

"Dhampirs, in our world, are sort of a Moroi body-guard," Charles continued.

"Okay," I said slowly. "I'm not saying that any of this is true, but what do vampires need to be guarded from? You know, aside from the sun?"

"Strigoi," Charles said. "The other kind of vampire. The one that comes more from legends that run in the human world." He took a bite of his chicken.

"Well, if you're a vampire, why are you eating that?" I questioned. I smiled, clearly breaking through his lie.

"Moroi survive off both blood and food," he said. "But we do not kill when we drink." He smiled and suddenly I saw that he had two long fangs. I jumped back in my seat. "Unlike Strigoi, who do kill their victims."

"Why are you telling me this?" I questioned, taking a breath to calm myself.

"For two reasons," Charles said. "First is that we suspect that it may have been a Strigoi that killed your mother."

"Why would one want to kill my mother?" I asked.

"To get to him," Betty said. "You're a Dhampir, but you definitely carry a few of Charles's looks. The hair, the eyes, the chin. They may have thought that your mother would have information as to where Charles was."

"So, they're after you?" I asked him.

"They're after all Moroi," Charles said. "The blood of Moroi makes Strigoi stronger. That is because our blood contains magic."

I sat for a moment, a little shocked.

"I know this must be a lot to take in," Betty said slowly.

"And the second reason?" I asked. "You said you were telling me for two reasons."

Charles cleared his throat. "Well, as we mentioned, dhampirs, like Betty, are often the bodyguards of the Moroi…"

I stared at him. He had to be kidding. "You want me to become a body guard for some Moroi?"

"Specifically, my son," Charles said.

"You just want to enlist me as a body guard?" I asked. I gestured to myself. "Do I look like I could be a body guard? I'm barely a hundred pounds."

"You'd be trained, of course," Betty said. "At St. Vladimirs. Well trained. I attended it myself."

I stood up. "You guys are crazy," I said. With that, I turned around and walked out. They didn't try to stop me, they just watched me go. By the time I returned to my home, which no longer felt like a home at all, I was quite tired and still not packed. What I did find, however, was an envelope on my bed. It had Charles's business card with his personal phone number written on the back, along with a few twenty dollar bills and a note that said, in case I needed something.

I had had all my assignment brought to me by a girl that lived in my building, and it had been the one thing I could do that was productive that allowed me to not dwell on what had happened. I was still packing, though a few men had come by earlier and taken most of the furniture to a storage unit (which I found out was being paid for by Charles). The only furniture left was in my room, and every day, more boxes were stacking up in the living room, ready to be taken to storage as well.

When I returned to school, a week after my mother had been killed, everyone stared. I tried to act as normally as possible, but no one seemed to know how to talk to me anymore. As always, my friend picked me up, as her sister drove and had to be in the area anyway. I still had the locker next to a senior who hadn't known I existed before, but now seemed to know who I was, as he told me, like everyone else was, that he was so sorry for what had happened.

"No one has an excuse to have not finished this assignment," Mrs. Crock said during my English class. "So, hand it in, whether it is finished or not." Everyone began grumbling, opening their folders to pull out a questionnaire about Jane Eyre.

However, when I reached down to my bag, she placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay if you haven't finished it, Gen. I can't imagine what you've been going through."

"It's okay," I said, pulling it out. "I actually have it done." We had been given the packet of questions two weeks ago, and I was one of those that loved English. I had finished the packet two days into the reading, after I had read ahead.

I could tell that Mrs. Crock wanted to use that as a slap in the face to everyone else, but she also could tell that by snapping that a girl whose mother was just brutally murdered finished the homework, there was absolutely no excuse for everyone else would probably be more of a slap in the face to me.

Half way through math class, I was called to the front offices, where I sat down with a school counselor. When I said I didn't want to talk about it, she said that we'd meed every week, on Wednesdays instead of me going to PE. I planned never to show up.

My table was nearly silent for at least ten minutes, until I demanded that they all talk. My friends immediately decided to catch me up on all the school gossip. I really didn't care at the moment.

I think the line was drawn when a junior came up to me and asked if they could interview me about the whole thing. I decided not to go to my volleyball practice and instead pulled my phone out, dialing Charles's number.


	2. Chapter 2

**As a side note, I did change the title after an hour or so of it being up. Anyway, to meet the bulk of the characters who are going to be in the story a lot. Charlie, Sebastian, Kristine, Paulina, and Verge. **

* * *

Chapter Two

St. Vladimirs was, in one word, whoa. I wasn't sure if I expected more of a small gothic mansion or a military school when I arrived. They forgot to tell me that it was a school for both dhampirs and Moroi. My items had all been either placed in storage or moved in already, and I apparently would have a room to myself.

Leading me through the school tour was a Moroi senior, tall, beautiful, waif-like. All the Moroi seemed to have that general description I quickly learned. "This is where novices, like yourself, will work out," she said. I had figured that out by the number of guys that were working on combat routines.

"Do boys and girls have separate classes?" I asked.

"No," Molly, as she had introduced herself as, said. "There just aren't a lot of female guardians." I looked again, and I spotted two girls among the throng of guys. One seemed to be on par with the guys, while the other looked a little behind. "Of course, those are the seniors, and you're just a sophomore, so you'll only be a lot behind, not a ton."

I had expected that I wouldn't learn the campus too well, as this tour was at night, but I quickly discovered this is when the day was. As well, I had always had pretty good night vision, which apparently was from my Moroi blood.

"Luckily, you're not here to be my guardian," Molly said with a smirk as she continued to lead me on.

"So you already have yours picked out?" I asked, not in a nice way, but trying not to be too mean.

Molly cleared her throat. "I, actually, probably won't have guardians. I'm in line to get a job at the royal court, so I'll be safe there."

I cocked my head. "The royal court? Which country?"

Molly rolled her green eyes. "When they told me you weren't really up on this world, they really left out a lot of details. Moroi society is run by a monarch. There are twelve royal families, and the monarch is chosen from among them."

"So… where is this royal court?" I asked.

"Pennsylvania," Molly said. She turned to me. "And, let's get this straight now. I'm only showing you around as a favor to Prince Charles. Being a prince, he's got a lot of pull at the court and will probably seal my position once I graduate. I'm number one in my class, so I can't be bothered with answering all your questions. And I'm not here to be your friend. I have my own, and you're just a sophomore novice."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll tell…" I slowly stopped talking. "Did you say _Prince_ Charles?"

"Yes," Molly said. "He's the oldest Lazar right now. That makes him the prince of the Lazar family."

That was a small fact that Charles and Betty had forgotten to mention. Apparently my father was a prince. I allowed myself a moment to calm myself. "Okay… I'll tell him you did a wonderful job showing me around and helping me to understand things."

Molly smiled. "Thanks," she said. "But that still doesn't make us friends."

"That's okay," I said. "As it is, I think I ought to make friends my own age, so that I don't end up friendless at the end of the year."

"Good thought," Molly said. "Now, that's pretty much the tour. Unless you need me to show you the elementary campus as well."

"No, I don't think I need to see that," I said. "I can tell you want to get back to class." She nodded. "I can make my way back to the offices on my own."

"Oh no, I'll escort you," Molly said. I figured it was for a chance to get to talk to Charles again.

When we returned to the offices, Charles stood there with a boy, probably my age, that had the same blue eyes as Charles. He wasn't quite as tall, but probably had a little bit of time to grow still. He was pale, and had dark brown hair messy about his head. Admittedly, he was really good-looking.

"Ah, you're back," Charles said. "Thank you again, Miss Larson."

"Anything for you, Prince Lazar," Molly said with a small curtsey. "I should return to classes though." She smiled brightly and then was turning off again.

"Gen, this is Charlie, my son," Charles said. Charlie looked me up and down, a smirk spreading on his lips. "You'll be training to be his guardian."

"I am okay with this," Charlie said. Despite being my age, it seemed that he already had finished with his voice changing, as it was a bit low, the kind that you'd expect to hear on the radio or to do voice-overs.

"Charlie, Gen is not here for your pleasure," Charles said. Betty, who was standing to the side holding Charles's briefcase, couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, you get a pretty guardian," Charlie said. "And now, I get one too. And I think she should start by guarding my reputation as the smoothest guy here."

"Okay, gawd, can I change my mind again?" I asked.

Charles sighed. "Charlie, you can decide how much you would like to share with the students of this school, but you may not hit on Gen."

"And why not?" Charlie asked. He was still eyeing me.

"She's your sister," Betty said, unable to hold it in.

"She… what?" Charlie was definitely shocked. "How do I have a dhamphir sister?"

"Well, you see," Betty began, but stopped when Charlie shot a dagger-filled glare at her.

"And, she's tiny," Charlie further pressed. "How is she going to protect me?"

"Her mother was a human," Charles said. "She hasn't had any training yet, but Alberta has assured me that she will get extra training to catch up with all her classmates. You said you wanted a pretty female guardian that was your own age. So you'll be getting one."

Charlie looked at me again. He looked disappointed that I was his sister. "Now, if you will be so kind, I believe that lunch hour is about to begin, and I have to be on my way. Until next time." He smiled at me. "You can call me with anything you need, Gen. I hope that this is okay with you."

"I'll try," I said with a nod.

With that, Charles left with Betty at his side.

"Come on," Charlie said, a groan in his voice. I could tell he was disappointed that he couldn't hit on me anymore, not that he wanted to. He clearly wanted a guardian that he could hook up with. "I'll show you to the cafeteria."

We arrived among a throng of people. Within a few seconds, I lost Charlie in the crowd, though I heard him laughing a few moments later. It took me a few minutes to figure out where the lunch line was, and then when I got through, a plate of mashed potatoes and ravioli on my tray along with a glass of water, I came up with the problem of not knowing anyone aside from Charlie, who I didn't think was too excited about me, and Molly, who had made it clear that we were not friends.

Standing in the center of the cafeteria, I felt my cheeks going red at the situation. People passed me, not even noticing my presence. I had no idea what I should do. I met Charlie's eyes, at his table, which was about half filled. He looked away, then sighed, and waved me over.

"Guys," he said when I arrived. "This is Gwen."

"It's Gen," I said.

"Gen, he corrected himself. "She's going to be my guardian. She just arrived today, so how about we let her eat with us, just this once."

The others, handsome guys and beautiful girls all nodded.

"You can sit next to me," one girl said, scooting down so there was room between her and a handsome guy with black hair. "I'm Paulina Tarus," she said, producing a hand to shake. She was pretty, with long red hair and light green eyes. She seemed a little shorter than most Moroi, though sitting down, it was hard to tell.

"Nice to meet you," I said, glad that someone seemed genuinely glad to meet me.

"And I," the guy with the black hair said, slinging an arm around my shoulders, "am the man of your dreams, your obvious prince charming, and totally available for you _anytime_ you need me."

"Knock it off, Dashkov," the girl across from him said, apparently kicking his shin.

"His name is Sebastian," Paulina said.

"So, Gen, where are you from?" Sebastian asked, his arm still around my shoulders.

"Could you stop molesting the poor girl," the girl across from him repeated.

"Sorry, Kristine," Sebastian said, removing his arm. He leaned toward me. "Voda's all the same."

"Seriously, Dashkov, shut it," Kristine said, tugging on some of her pale blonde hair. She kept rolling her blue-green eyes.

"But, seriously, where are you from?" Paulina asked. "I mean, what school did you go to before transferring here?"

"Um, well, I doubt you've heard of it," I said. "I, um, actually haven't been to a vampire school before."

They all stared at me, except Charlie who just grunted a bit and rubbed his face.

"Seriously?" Kristine asked. "You went to a human school?"

I looked at all the faces, then nodded. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Then, how… no… why did you transfer here?" Sebastian asked. "I mean, why now?"

"Um, to be Charlie's guardian," I said. I was starting to feel really stupid, like a spectacle at a zoo or something, from the way they were staring at me.

"Is that so?" A chilling voice questioned over my shoulder, making me shiver. Before I could turn around, the guy, who apparently had snuck up on me, had rounded the table and sat next to Kristine. He was probably the most handsome of the guys, with dark blonde hair, a few lighter highlights, and dazzling blue-green eyes. He was definitely a Moroi, but he was a little more tanned than the others. He gazed at me, and seemed to notice as my breath hitched. "A true shame. You look like you should be dressed in jewels, not chasing after Lazar." I could feel my cheeks getting red. "Virgil Marcellinus Korbinian Szelsky, at your service. Most people call me Verge."

"Hello, Verge," Paulina said, though it was with an annoyed sigh.

"May I ask of your name?" Verge asked, ignoring Paulina completely.

"Um, Gen," I said. He waved his hand, expecting more. "Genevieve Delacruz."

"Do you have a middle name, Miss Delacruz?" Verge asked, this time reaching across the table with his fork and scooping some of Sebastian's mashed potatoes.

"Keeley," I said. I felt, for some unknown reason, that I should tell him anything he wanted to know. That was until his ravioli set ablaze, and I fell backwards, out of my seat, in utter shock.

"What the hell, Kristine!" Verge snapped, which I heard from my position on the floor. I pushed myself back to the standing position with Paulina's help. His ravioli was no longer on fire, and it didn't even look scorched.

"You were using compulsion on her, Jerk," Kristine snapped. "She is not your puppet."

"Yeah, she's mine," Charlie said. He stood up. "Come on, Gen, I'm hungry."

"You've got food in front of you," I said, slowly.

"I'm hungry," he repeated.

"He means he wants blood," Sebastian said.

My eyes widened. "What?" I questioned, my hands going to my neck.

"No yours," Charlie said. He rolled his eyes. "We've got feeders, and I figure you might as well learn where they are."

I looked at the others. "We'll see you later," Paulina said as I stood up.

Once we were out of earshot, Charlie groaned. "You are really an embarrassment. I can't believe I let you sit with us."

"Thanks for that," I said.

"Look, stay away from Verge if you're not with one of us," Charlie said. "Or, well, never be alone with him. Because you will build a reputation, and that does reflect badly on me, and my whole family. Okay?"

I nodded. "Um, can I ask about the fire?"

"That was Kristine," Charlie said. "I'm guessing my father didn't tell you much about magic, huh?" We arrived at a room with a lot of other Moroi. He checked in quickly, and then got into line. I shook my head no in answer to his question. "Well, each Moroi is able to control the elements, but we all specialize in one. Kristine specialized in fire. Paulina and I are both Earth specialists. Sebastian in water, and Verge in air. But, we all can use compulsion as well… you know what that is, right?"

"Forcing your will on someone," I said.

"Exactly," Charlie said. "Verge likes to abuse that. He's used compulsion to force a lot of girls to do things with him. Most can barely remember."

"That's creepy," I said. "The sad thing is that with a little natural charm, he'd probably be able to get the girls based solely on his good looks."

"Or his royal status," Charlie said. "His grandmother is the Princess of the Szelsky family. She's one of the highest members at the royal court."

I glanced at him. "You're royal as well, right?"

Charlie nodded. "As is everyone that you just met."

"So, basically, you're saying that you kind of just introduced me to the most important people our age?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Charlie said. At that point, his name was called. He smiled. "Ready to see me feeding?"

"Not really," I said, but I followed him anyway. We walked into a booth where a man sat, a ridiculously wide smile on his face. "Meet Frank, he's a human feeder."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"He's an addict to blood loss," Charlie said. He sat on a stool and then sank his long fangs into Frank. I gasped and jumped back, and despite drinking from Frank's neck, I could tell Charlie was smiling at my reaction. Frank gasped in surprise as well, but it was more like a surprise at the great taste of chocolate.

Charlie didn't drink a lot, and soon was standing up, a little blood on his lower lip. He licked that up and then gestured toward the exit. "Ladies first."

I was just a little too shocked to say anything, which I think Charlie found great delight in. "I just thought you ought to know what you're getting yourself into," he said as we walked out.

* * *

Paulina was in my next class, which, luckily for me, was Literature. The class was about half way through Wuthering Heights, a personal favorite of mine. Even though I was probably going to be behind in a lot of my combat classes, I figured at least I'd be on par with, if not ahead, of my more academic classes. Our instructor, a Moroi named Ms. Lane, was pleased to have me in the discussion.

"Have you read this before?" Paulina asked when Ms. Lane was talking about homework.

I nodded. "Yeah, last year. It was my favorite one," I replied, in an equally low voice.

"That's sweet," Paulina said. "So, you wouldn't mind helping me with a few homework questions, would you?"

"Not at all," I replied. Paulina smiled at me, revealing her fangs, which I knew I'd have to get used to. She then turned back toward the front, so I followed suit. Ms. Lane approached me with a few papers. "I normally wouldn't do this with someone transferring in during the middle of the book, but as it seems that you have read it, here are the assignments that I'd like you to work on."

I looked at the stack of papers, each requiring a mini-essay. I forced a smile. "Fun," I said. "When do I need to turn it in by?"

"Monday," Ms. Lane said. "That gives you the whole weekend." Seeing as it was Friday, it only gave me the weekend.

The rest of the day pretty much went like that. I had Sebastian and Kristine in my Pre-trig class, pretty much the whole of Charlie's table, including Charlie, in my Russian language class (which was going to be my worst class, I already knew) and then Verge in my chemistry class. Luckily, for me, he kept his focus on a cute Moroi girl during that class.

No one really talked to me aside from those that I had met at lunch and the teachers. I spent a lot of the time trying to figure out whether others were Moroi or dhamphirs, or trying to tie names to faces, but that was becoming difficult. I did, however, pick up a few rumors about me. One was that I was a transfer from a place called Adler. Another that I came from other countries. That I was, up until now, living in a 'Blood Whore' commune, not that I knew what that meant, but I could tell it was bad. There were even a few rumors that I was just a very strange looking Moroi and now was betrothed to Charlie. That one personally made me laugh. Not one, however, mentioned me being related to him.

After classes, I was intercepted by one of the guardians on campus, and apparently one of my trainers. He was called Guardian Noyes, and he stood massive next to me. "Alberta would like to speak with you," he said. "Come with me." There was no emotion in his voice and he seemed absolutely precise in how he worked. He led me to Alberta's office. She was Captain of the Guard here, I knew, and she said she was going to come up with a training schedule for me so I could catch up to my classmates. That was all before my tour with Molly, so I supposed that this would be to receive my schedule.

"Gen, good to see you," Alberta said. She looked as though she may have once been pretty, but her face had been weathered by years in service. She pulled out a piece of paper. "We've come to a decision that, rather than the guardians training you, we'll have a few of our senior novices train you… for extra credit on their part. We'd like you to put in a three mile run every morning, though Sundays are optional. As well, you'll meet with a novice in the gym after your afternoon classes. Also, Saturday mornings, which will probably be with one of the Guardians, as the students rarely like to wake up early. You don't have a practice tomorrow, so you can settle in and all. These practices may, however, be open to a few others in your combat classes, but the focus will be on you, at least for now."

I smiled. "Thank you," I said.

Alberta nodded. "Now, I suppose that you've got to get to your room, do some unpacking, or maybe get a jump start on homework."

"Actually, yeah, I kind of have a lot of literature homework, as well as a test for my math, and a lot of Russian to learn," I said. However, I was smiling. "I think I ought to get started. Anyway, I told Paulina that I'd help her with her literature homework, since I've read the book already."

Alberta smiled. "Well, I can see you settling in here. I do hope this works out."

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**Still to come in the next chapter, Gen's first combat classes. That cute Moroi training with the novices. Snotty girls with too much make-up.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, third chapter, finally getting it up even though I've had about eight done before I started even posting. I hope you like this one. Read and Review!**

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Chapter Three

By the time I arrived at the Moroi lounge Paulina had asked me to meet her at, there was only an hour left until dinner. She was chewing on the end of her pink pen staring down at her copy of Wuthering Heights. When she heard me approaching, she looked up and smiled. "About time," she said, pushing her book aside. "How am I supposed to help you with your Russian if you're not here?"

"I thought this is about literature," I said. I had a bag with me, carrying a new laptop that Charles insisted I have, along with my copy of Wuthering Heights and my stack of essays to write.

"It's about both," Paulina said. "But if you'd like to start with literature, that's fine."

I smiled. "I think that might be good," I said. "Seeing as I have a lot of work to catch up on."

I pulled out the packet that she was working on first and began filling in all the answers. I explained a few of the questions, and where to look for specific examples that we were supposed to show. I did my best to not flat out give her the answers, and she seemed to appreciate that. I could tell that she was the hard worker type, the one that liked to think on her own.

When dinner rolled around, we packed up and brought our things to the cafeteria, where we began working on Russian. As the rest of the table picked up on what was happening, I spent the whole dinner hour being surrounded by Russian words, and very few explanations. However, I did pick up a few things and by the end of the hour I could say 'Pass the salt' and 'Grow up, Verge.' When dinner was over, I decided to head to my own room to unpack and get a good chunk of the mini-essays written.

I was up early Saturday morning, apparently just stepping out at the moment that we were allowed to be up and out, which surprised the dorm matron to have someone up so early. I wanted to get my run in during the last moments of sun. Alberta hadn't told me I was to check in with anyone or where I was supposed to run, so I plugged my headphones into my ears and began running.

Running felt good. I hadn't been on a run since I found my mother, but with a good song in my ears and a whole new life to think about, my mind wandered as I was moving. I discovered the elementary campus and basically did a lap of the whole school, which I think was more than the required three miles, but having been on cross-country since the seventh grade, it was something I was used to. A comfort in a new, terrifying world.

After walking around the dhamphir dorm twice to cool down, I went back inside and up to my floor to take a shower. A few drowsy girls were in the bathroom when I arrived. They stared at me, like I was some strange creature.

"Can I help you?" I asked, finally getting annoyed at their stares.

"I thought you were a Moroi," one girl said. She was tall, for a human girl... or a dhampir, I suppose, but still not as tall as most Moroi. Her hair looked like it was naturally brown, as I could see brown roots, but it was bleached blonde. She could have been pretty, if she wasn't frowning.

"Nope," I said, finding an empty shower stall.

"Then, why were you sitting with the royals yesterday?" the girl pursued.

I sighed. Apparently 'royal' was synonymous with 'popular' here. "Because Charlie Lazar invited me for lunch, and Paulina Tarus and Sebastian Dashkov invited me for dinner," I said. I probably shouldn't have rubbed in the names. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to shower."

I closed the curtain and turned on the water, but I could hear them gossiping about me still. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't help but wonder what they were saying. The water blocked out the words, but not the sound of their voices.

They were gone when I finished with my shower, and the other girls that were there while I dried my hair decided to take the high road and completely ignored me.

I arrived at breakfast a bit early, I guess, and was perfectly content to study some of my Russian book while I ate my eggs and bacon. I then went back to my essays after I finished eating, and worked on them straight through until dinner.

"Missed you at breakfast and lunch today," Paulina said when I arrived at dinner. It was pizza, which made me smile. Vampire school at least had a good menu so far.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot about lunch," I said. "But, I finished with my essays, so that's good."

"How do you forget about lunch?" Verge asked. I had picked up that, aside from flirting, his favorite thing to do was eat.

I just shrugged. And then I realized something. "Where's Charlie?"

"Probably getting his daily blood fix," Sebastian said. "Why?" He smiled. "You're not developing a crush on him, are you?"

"No," I said immediately. I slowed down. "But, I'm going to be his guardian, right? So I should probably try to keep track of where he is."

"You've got nearly three years before for you're officially his guardian," Verge said. He smiled and leaned toward me. I immediately averted my eyes. "You could spend that time with me."

"No thank you," I said as politely as I could, which caused Kristine to burst out laughing. I took that as a good sign, as I was beginning to think she didn't like me all that much.

"I don't think I even want to know," Charlie's voice said as he slipped into the seat next to Kristine.

"Charlie, she's a definite keeper," Kristine said, nodding her head at me.

"Maybe I do want to know," Charlie said. I could swear he almost smiled at me, but it didn't quite make it. Then he shook his head. "No, I really don't care."

After dinner, Paulina invited me back to the Moroi dorm to practice some more Russian. She was determined to get me caught up, but I think she was trying to make it come a little too quickly.

Sunday felt very similar to Saturday, with the exception of not having to write any more essays. I finished up my homework for my other classes, got a good five mile run in, and then spent a good deal of the day more or less wandering the campus. I ate with the royals again, and they decided that lunch would be a good time to force Russian on me again, though I did pick up on the fact that only Kristine really had a good grasp on the language.

Monday, however, didn't go quite as well as planned. My alarm didn't go off on time, and I still was getting used to the role reversal of night and day. So, by the time I woke, I just had enough time to make my three mile run. I didn't have time to cool down before my shower, so by the time I stepped out after soaping up, I was still hot from the run.

I was only in the dining room long enough to grab a breakfast bar, which probably wouldn't be good considering that I would be spending my morning in combat practice. Seeing that I barely got anything, one of the ladies gave me a left over scoop of eggs and insisted I eat them before class.

I arrived late at my first combat practice.

Guardian Belkin, the instructor in charge, tilted his head to get a good look at me. "You were chosen by Prince Charles Lazar to protect his son?" he asked me when I walked, making me even more the center of attention than I was for being late.

The whole class was staring at me, which was not how I wanted to start my time in combat. I nodded, then followed it up with a strong, "Yes."

"Yet you've never had any training?"

"Not really, no," I said, this time a little meekly. I don't think he realized that he was actually embarrassing me, or maybe he just didn't care. A good majority of the class, however, was chuckling, if not outright laughing.

He smiled. "Hey, Argent, I think I may have found a sparring partner that won't put you into intensive care." Guardian Belkin led me to the corner of the class, where the girl that had questioned me in the bathroom stood. She was wearing a little too much make-up considering what we'd be doing, and her bleached blonde hair was twisted into a bun. However, Belkin looked at the boy she was standing next to. He was tall, pale, and waif-like, another Moroi. "Mary, let's find you someone up to your level. Delacruz, meet Jake Argent. He's a Moroi that wants to be a guardian."

Jake rolled his amber-like eyes. "I want to be able to protect myself," he said. I looked at him oddly. He was very handsome, right up there with Verge and Charlie. In fact, with his smooth pale skin and close cropped dark hair, if he wore the right clothes, he might even be more handsome. But he carried himself differently. Charlie and his royal friends walked with a kind of arrogance. Jake stood tall and proud, but with modesty. As well, I knew Argent wasn't a royal family, so I suspected he wasn't.

"Guardian Belkin," Mary immediately spoke up. "Pairing two that aren't strong together might not be good. How can they improve if they aren't challenged?"

"Better than if they end up in the medical wing every other day," Guardian Belkin said. He smiled at Mary. "Anyway, how will you improve if you're never challenged?" It was clear that Mary wanted to be paired with Jake, and I would have bet it had more to do with his face than his skills.

Guardian Belkin began to rearrange some partners, until what was apparently the best in class would be his example partner. Jake spent this whole time studying me.

"Can I help you?" I asked finally.

"Just, wondering why you were chosen to guard Lazar in the future," Jake said. "So, you're Gen, right?"

"That's right," I said. Belkin was beginning to lead some stretches and I wanted to show that I was serious about this.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're tiny?" Jake asked. He, like everyone else, was following in the stretching. "So, why do you want to be a guardian?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a Moroi?" I asked. "Why train with the novices?"

"Touche," he said. "But, as I said, I want to be able to protect myself." We all stood up. I had to keep my eyes on Belkin, but Jake, like a lot of the others in the class, seemed to already know the stretches.

"And, why don't you just enlist a guardian like most Moroi do?" I asked.

"Most?" Jake asked. "Where are you from?"

"Chicago area," I said. "I'm still getting used to all this news. Sometimes I think I might wake up and learn that all this is a dream."

Jake smiled at me, and it lit his face up beautifully when I looked at him. I stood dazed for a moment, before he turned forward again. I blinked myself back to the present and quickly got back with the stretches.

"Royal Moroi use up most of the guardians," he said. "I am far from royal, and I really don't want to work for royals for protection when I graduate. My element isn't really effectual when it comes to protecting myself, so I opted out of electives to train physically. It's a new concept around here, but I figured that it was important."

"What's your element?" I asked.

He smiled again. "I didn't specialize in Earth, Air, Fire, or Water," he said, and left it at that.

After stretching and a few warm-ups like jumping-jacks, Belkin set the class to basic combat practice. "No head hits and keep it safe," he called out, before coming over to Jake and me. "You two are lucky. Alberta wants me focusing on you for a few days, Delacruz."

I sighed. And then I followed Belkin's instructions on the very basics. How to stand, how to make a proper fist, and how to actually throw a punch. And then he watched as Jake and I stood ready to fight one another. I threw the first punch, which Jake easily dodged. He grabbed my still extended arm and had me in a grip I couldn't escape in seconds.

This continued for the rest of the hour. It included me getting punched, thrown, and pinned countless times, and probably a lot of bruises. Once the class was over, I was on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

"Get up, Delacruz," Belkin said as everyone filed out of the room, heading for Combat Strategies. I painfully stood up and followed my peers. Luckily, it turned out my second class was not a physical one. However, when I walked, every seat was taken. There apparently had been just enough desks before I arrived, and they hadn't gotten a spare in. I stood stupidly in the doorway, staring at the full room before me.

"Standing will be good practice for you," Mary said. "Seeing as you didn't do much of it in our last class." She laughed, along with all the other girls and quite a few of the boys.

* * *

**Once again, reviews help me to post faster. It's nearly a proven fact. **


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